Aspire Restaurant and Bar in Trafford

Just back from a lovely themed night at Aspire Restaurant at Traffordd College - fabulous value and great food. Really good prices for quality drinks too. We had a 3 course meal with additional appetisers on arrival and coffee with a sweet treat at the end and 2 alcoholic drinks each including their fabulous award winning Rhubard Gin Cocktail (delicious) All in it came to £50.20 for the 2 of us plus of course we left service on top of that. So pleased to have revisited and looking forward to more meals there going forwards. Well done Aspire!

First class food and service. I have taken our PROBUS Group to ASPIRE for the last 7 years. The standard of food and service has remained high and the satisfaction of our members is unanimous. It is a lovely top floor restaurant, with lifts and disabled access. The feedback from my members is positive year on year - hence the repeat business.

Fantastic multi course dinner made by the students, truly remarkable cooking. Check Twitter for dates.

So this restaurant is staffed by the college students including waiting on and food Preparation but do not think this is going to be some mediocre canteen food! It is excellent fine dining. The young people are attentive and knowledgeable. Ok there is the odd over enthusiastic moment with the service but give these students a chance to impress you, everyone needs a break and this is a fantastic idea to expose the students to a real life situation. Menu was a choice of 4 for each course. All beautifully presented and great flavours. Very reasonable £18.50 and a full bar options with 10 or so wines also reasonably priced

I was treated to lunch at Aspire after a business meeting and was thoroughly impressed with both the standard of the food (chicken in a tarragon sauce was particularly delicious) and the attentive service from the catering students. They’re a credit to the college and promise great things for the future of the hospitality industry!

Went here today and it was brilliant! Lovely, professional, calm restaurant, clean and well presented, great service, outstanding food (and yet insanely cheap for what it is) and loads of parking. Would definitely recommend!

Food as always was excellent, I would recommend the lamb although those who had the fish 3 ways said it was excellent. The setting I'd good very good value for money The students on the night were very good , lead by John and his team . Always worth a visit.

I have been to the Aspire Restaurant at Trafford College for tea a few times now and I have never been disappointed. The front of house students are always polite and very attentive throughout the night, often checking if everything is okay with your food or if you need anything/ would like another drink. The food cooked by the students is always great quality and is presented to an exceptional standard - you literally feel like you're eating in a Michelin star restaurant but without the expensive prices. I honestly can't fault this place. If you haven't already paid a visit then you definitely should.

Lunch at Trafford College's Aspire Restaurant was a most pleasant experience. I was part of a large party that enjoyed an excellent Christmas lunch which you would never have guessed was cooked by students. The starters were excellent. I enjoyed Mackerel on a bed of beetroot - whoever put the beetroot together will go far in my estimation. The fish was cooked perfectly and it was well presented. Other starters (Mushroom soup, Goat's cheese tart to name but two) were well received by my fellow diners. I went traditional and opted for the Turkey - well presented, cooked just how I like it and truly delicious. I got similar feedback from the pork mains and other options. My Christmas pudding was tasty and quite the ticket! Other desserts were equally well received. So do yourself a favour and check it out - you might just be as pleased as I am!

I recently attended the Italian evening and thought I would be eating a plate of pasta. That couldn't have been further from the truth, with a starter of carpaccio of tuna, a main of osso bucco with sage polenta and dessert of pannacotta with citrus sauce - what a wonderful meal - all cooked, presented and served to perfection. Well done Aspire students! I will be returning soon.

Lovely place. Inspirational to students and the facilities help learning. Great amount of parking

Fantastic food and lovely service as always from the great Trafford College students. We eat here pretty regularly with friends, family and as a couple. Always something new and inspiring. Last night's event was fun and delicious as usual. We're looking forward to next term and more guest chefs, as well as the in house talent.

It is over two years since I last ate here, because our experience then was so bad. But we went with friends who had booked it and we had a very pleasant lunch. The service is somewhat unpolished, but it is a training restaurant. The food was excellent and, of course, it is very cheap.

I would never have thought of going to my local College for a meal, but my friend suggested this so we gave it a try. Wow, was I glad we did we both had a three course meal, which was really more as I had a starter, soup, main course and desert followed by petit fours for £13.95. All the food was fantastically cooked, the waiters and waitresses were friendly, answered all our questions about the dishes. We were not rushed, the restaurant was lovely and you had plenty of space, good lighting. The wine was served at the correct temperature and was a lovely smooth Merlot which I find highly unusual, as I often find 5 star restaurants serve this too cool for my liking. The atmosphere was so relaxed and yet professional. I understand they do theme nights and we have booked to one in May, as the one in April was fully booked and I can well understand why. Absolutely loved this, it was great. Well done.

I know this reveiw is a little dated however ,having been to aspire on many occasions I would say its Trafford's best kept secrect,I believe its just won A.A. Gold star awards for service and its deserts .The Aspire Restaurant is efficiently run by John and Dorothy ,and is the training restaurant for up and coming catering students with either very little experience or about 1 years in the industry .Be patient when things might appear to be slow they are learning .The food is first class and varies week by week the students design and deliver theme nights .and it very good value at under 18pounds for a 3course dinner with plenty of choice .with and excellent wine list and god beers on offer .You will need to book as its very popular.Open only lunch time and thursday nights .Great food great service .

Food beautifully cooked and served efficiently in pleasant surroundings. Very good value at £15 for 4 courses and, as it was a Portuguese themed meal, a small glass of port. My only criticism was the menu itself - there was chilli in most of the dishes which might not suit everyone; there are other Portuguese dishes that are not spicy so perhaps a bit more research was needed beforehand.

This restaurant which is in Trafford College Altrincham is outstanding ,it surpasses any restaurants in the area it is innovative , excellent value and only uses the best local products, staff are attentive and well supervised. we are fortunate to have such a high standard of cuisine in the Altrincham area

We have been going there for at least seven years. The food and service have always been excellent. Seeing young people doing everything so well is especially impressive to me--a retired teacher. If we lived closer we would dine there more!

We've been several times before and enjoyed great food and service at unbelievable value for money. This was no exception. Aspire is part of South Trafford College and the restaurant is run and served by the students. We've been to their themed evenings before and this was 'Goth Night'...just in time for Halloween. The restaurant is always well themed to suit the occasion. The food is generally superb, the service is great and the value for money cannot be beaten. A four course dinner, plus coffee and hand made chocolates was just £16.50 a head! Highly recommended. Remember: these are generally 1st year catering course students cooking the food and serving, so give them a little leeway and you'll have a great meal. We only had two minor quibbles: the server forgot to pour the wine (no big deal), and the intermediate soup course was over-salted. The rest of the meal was fantastic, well cooked, very well presented and easily on a par with many so-called professional restaurants. We've dined there several times and will definitely be back. I wish we'd taken photos of the beautifully presented food...but they looked so good, we got stuck in and completely forgot! Doh! Restaurant is only open at college term times (students, remember!). Also it's only open for lunch on Wednesdays and Thursdays and dinner on Thursdays. Look out for their themed evenings, they're great!

I eat here quite regularity and the food is always great, often as good as you would get in a top restaurant. The food is prepared and cooked by the students of Trafford College and I have never been disappointed with what the have given me. Other students wait on and serve the meals. It's a great place to go mid-week in term time and the prices are tiny considering the quality that you get.

I went with a friend, not knowing what to expect. We were greeted by Olivia the maître'd, looking terrific, dressed in purple coat and willy Wonka hat, making her guests welcome. The evening was brilliant, complete with a Golden ticket winner; tables festooned with sweets, and Willy Wonka film playing in the background !!! The food was excellent, as ever. I have been for lunch and dinner previously, and never been disappointed. The four course dinner for £16.50 couldn't be faulted; add an excellent bottle of Malbec for £14, meant we had a lovely evening for about £22 each - I would have happily paid twice as much. There are two more themed evenings before the end of term in May (I think) - see you there - - - - - - !!!!

We had lunch at this restaurant today. We have eaten there before and found it very good. Today was a very mixed experience. Maybe we were unlucky, but the lamb that we all had was tough and not particularly tasty. We pointed this out to the chef, who had the good sense to listen and acknowledge the issue, promising that he would pass on the complaint. I understand that this is a training restaurant for college students, but there were several very basic things that were wrong e.g. no bread on the table (we had to ask); no soup spoons - despite the fact that soup had been ordered (again we had to ask); waiters reaching across us to take things away; items being removed before we had finished with them; and finally a cup of coffee put down in front of me with the saucer covered in spilt coffee (yet again, I had to ask for it to be cleaned up). I was not going to list this unfavourable review, as I understand that it is a training restaurant. That was until I listed my complaints, or tried to list them to the women in charge at reception. She was so busy interrupting me to defend the indefensible that I decided a warning review was necessary. If the person in charge cannot listen to justifiable complaints and act appropriately, there is no chance for the students to improve. We will not be going again.

I have been to Aspire several times over the last 2/3 years and it had never disappointed.The food is always excellently cooked and well presented.The staff are mainly students at the associated Trafford College.

We visited today for lunch with a very large group of people.The food was delicious, the service oustanding, you could hear yourself talk! wine was good and very reasonable.Value for money, yes!

We have just got home from a lovely evening at Aspire. The four of us enjoyed a really good gourmet meal with attentive service from the students. It's good to know that the students who prepared tonight's meal and served us will be the restaurant staff of the future. Well done to all involved.

My friends and I make an annual visit to sample the delights from Aspire. Fabulous food and service at a very affordable price. Added bonus to know that you're helping the next generation of front and rear of house try out their skills. Definitely worth a visit!

Along with three other guests I've recently visited the Aspire Restaurant and for the second time this year. It was a theme evening titled North West Produce. As mentioned by other contributors the Aspire restaurant is located within Trafford College for the purposes of student training in all aspects of restauranteering.(just made that word up). With regard to the visit and like the first time, a truly fantastic experience with excellent gourmet food, great service and a very satisfying and relaxing atmosphere. The food is simply a delight, trying things I've never had before and what a pleasure to have attentive and exceptionally well mannered service. I believe the restaurant is only open a few nights a week and obviously closed during college holidays. Recommended to book in advance and the opening times and future themes are accessible via their website. I already look forward to returning. Glad I live locally. The wine is also excellent.

First time visit to this restaurant. We were very pleasantly surprised by the professionalism and we couldn't believe that some of the hosts were still students. In fact all hosts, chefs and waitresses are all students. The themed event was to raise awareness for breast cancer and raise funds for breast cancer research charities. The whole evening was delightful, the atmosphere was very relaxed and the ambience was spot on. By all accounts they raised a good amount of money for a very worthy cause which makes the evening even more successful in our eyes.(subject close to our hearts).Nichola, who appeared to be the main hostess and lead of the event, appeared very profesional, with knowledge of her chosen theme, nothing was too much trouble for any of the excellent staff especially our waitress Olivia.I would not hesitate in returning , on par with any fine dining we have experienced in the past with the added bonus of it being fantastic value for money. Well done all students and tutors involved in training. Even had the added bonus of winning a raffle prize, never win anything generally! !We will return.

We went for lunch. Lovely bright, spacious room - lots of space between tables and no horrendous musak. Very good service and food. Three courses for £9.00. What more can one say? You need to book. We will certainly be going back.Signs from the main car park very difficult to follow. Give yourself plenty of time!

All the food at this restaurant is cooked and served by the students at Trafford College, and they do a wonderful job. It's amazing value for money - 3 courses with coffee and chocolates is only £14.50, and the food is restaurant standard. I had tandoori cod with raita, roasted vegetables with polenta chips, and a trio of desserts, and it was all absolutely delicious. The students were so attentive and polite, I really could not fault the service or the food. I will definitely be back here.

Having been there a few times I can honestly say that the food is up there with any fine restaurant I have ever been to. The price for a 3 course evening meal is around the £12 mark. I have also been at lunchtime where the food is also of a fine standard.The Students can be a little nervous when serving but these are Students who are just starting out. The Student Chefs are supervised by the teaching Chefs so making sure that the food going out is presented perfectly.Also worth pointing out that it is only open during term time.Almost dont like leaving this review as wouldn't want it to get that popular where I wasn't able to book a table :)

Fine dining, in a lovely set out restaurant, all cooked and served by the students at Trafford College, under the watchful eye of Tutors.Food was well prepared, and service excellent.For a evening out with a difference, and brownie points for supporting future catering/hospitality staff have a go.Excellent value for money.

Ive eaten there a few times now and the food has always been fantastic.

Great (but sometimes nervous) service (most of the staff are catering and hospitality students). The restaurant has a pleasant atmosphere and is very light - windows span two of the walls giving panoramic veiws.I would recommend you go - support a local college!